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Minutes 03-07-11 MINUTES OF THE SENIOR ADVISORY BOARD REGULAR MEETING HELD ON MONDAY, MARCH 7, 2011, AT 3:00 P.M. AT THE SENIOR CENTER, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA Present: Denise Chamberlain, Chair Steve Lulkin, City Liaison Katharine Cregan Blanche Girtman Katherine Lynch Virginia O'Connell Jean Young Betty Spinelli, Alternate Absent: Patricia Frazier Lillian Bruzzese, Alternate I. Call to Order The meeting was called to order at 3:00 p.m. II. Pledge of Allegiance/Moment of Silent Reflection The members recited the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag, followed by a moment of silent reflection. III. Roll Call The Recording Secretary called the roll. IV. Approval of Minutes Motion Ms. Spinelli moved to approve the minutes which was seconded by Ms. Cregan and passed unanimously. V. Approval of Agenda Motion Ms. O'Connell moved to approve the agenda. Ms. Lynch seconded the motion that passed unanimously. Meeting Minutes Senior Advisory Board Boynton Beach, Florida March 7, 2011 VI. Chairperson’s Remarks Introduce new Members  Chair Chamberlain re-introduced Ms. Girtman, retired educator and former member of the City's Community Relations Board for many years, to Ms. Lynch and Ms O'Connell, members who were absent last month. Review Attendance Policy  Chair Chamberlain reminded members that the attendance policy states if you miss three meetings in a program year, which goes from *September to May, you can no longer serve on the Board. If an absence is necessary, call Chair Chamberlain or City Hall and she will get the message. VII. Old Business Correction of 1/10/11 minutes concerning accreditation/transportation  Chair Chamberlain recited what was said at last meeting. "Chair noted the Senior Center was nationally accredited due in large part to the Shopper Hopper system that brought people to the center. Staff was in the process of applying for re-accreditation this year. However, re-accreditation would not be possible if the Shopper Hopper program were to be discontinued." Chair Chamberlain noted she was told that is incorrect. It is not an absolute guarantee that re-accreditation would be lost without the Shopper Hopper. It was noted and a correction was made to say "it was a possibility". Research of passengers on Shopper Hopper per month  Mr. Lulkin provided a report for October, November and December. The Shopper Hopper had a high ridership total of 2,046 in the month of December. When reviewing all months, the ridership averages approximately 3,500 per month. The demise of the Shopper Hopper was still on the books. Results of research on possible corporate donor by Ms. Lonergan.  Chair Chamberlain reminded members that at the last meeting a motion was made to ask Ms. Lonergan to attempt to secure a corporate sponsor to alleviate the bus situation. To date, nothing is known. Hopefully, they are looking at the possibilities discussed at the last meeting to keep the service, as it is a true asset to the seniors. Chair Chamberlain summarized the discussion on this topic from the last meeting for the two members that were absent. 2 Meeting Minutes Senior Advisory Board Boynton Beach, Florida March 7, 2011 Comments on Ethics Training Session  Chair Chamberlain noted that all members except one attended the mandatory training session. Members felt it was very educational and important for everyone to attend. Update on Accreditation Committee  Mr. Lulkin is still in the process of putting together the press release and is hopeful it will be completed by the end of the month. Chair Chamberlain noted that the accreditation process to follow is a lengthy one. Updating is simply a matter of reviewing, adding items, deleting items or adjusting items. She would like volunteers to assist in the process of reviewing and updating the materials and checking for rule changes. Ms. O'Connell, Ms. Spinelli, and Ms. Lynch volunteered to assist. It is due by November, 2011 and the hope is that the reviews and updates will be completed by September, 2011 to ensure enough time for submittal. Update on Risk Identification Program  Chair Chamberlain advised the Police Department is in the process of instituting the program for Alzheimer's/Dementia citizens. The family can notify the Police Department and record all medications, doctors, etc. so if the person gets lost, the Police Department can immediately, within 15 or 20 minutes, take action. The computer will store all information about the person. Currently, it takes over three hours to get the information from the doctors and hospital. There is hope a meeting can be held at the Center in the future to explain the program and what needs to be done to register someone. VIII. New Business New Problems on Seniors from Members  Possible loss of attendance on meal program if the Shopper Hopper was lost.  The meal program would not be lost, but attendance would be down if seniors could not find transportation. Suggestion of a petition or letter to be circulated and sent to City Hall to  explain the situation and the problem that the Shopper Hopper for some is the ONLY transportation they could take. Some would be unable to afford any other mode of transportation. A lengthy discussion ensued as to who could or would write the letter or if some seniors would even understand what they were signing. Any petition becomes a legal document and whoever devises the letter needs to be aware of the repercussions once a signature is obtained. As a result, it needs to be in the form of a letter or a survey, where 3 Meeting Minutes Senior Advisory Board Boynton Beach, Florida March 7, 2011 one copy would be distributed to each individual and would not require a signature. Any initiative implemented, however, has to be a city-wide initiative. The services are used by everyone and losing it would detract from their lives. The Shopper Hopper has at least 1,000 members riding it every month from many of the developments in the area. It is possible other things can be implemented that may prevent losing the service. For example, a possibility may be to reduce service by one day or raise the price for each way. The question is; would members still ride if service was reduced or prices were raised? Seniors need to be made aware that there is a possibility the service would be lost and inquire if they would still use the service if reductions in services or increases in costs were decided. This is an additional issue since Palm Tran stopped free service to seniors over 80. Chair Chamberlain said the letter needs to be informative with all the facts and then it should ask the reader if they are willing to use the service if they had to pay more. Ms. Girtman offered to circulate the letter, if one were available, to the various churches. Chair Chamberlain asked for a volunteer to write the letter. Ms. Young and Ms. Cregan volunteered to write the letter, with the assistance of Mr. Lulkin, as long as it could be completed and submitted to her within two weeks in case it needs approval from the City. If the letter cannot be copied at the Senior Center, Ms. Lynch would donate a ream of paper so it could be copied and distributed to different Homeowner Associations. It is possible some of the Associations that would have involvement would allow copies to be made for distribution. Update on "Community for a Lifetime" meeting Wednesday, March 16, 2011 at  4:00 p.m. Chair Chamberlain advised this committee has been part of this Community for a Lifetime. Some have come to meetings, some have not. Some projects included the hospice project, the craft project and now a program with healthcare providers is being th considered. It will be discussed at the meeting on March 16. If it is a go, it would be implemented by the fall. All members are invited to attend. Senior Center Report – Steve Lulkin  Mr. Lulkin reported the following: Almost 1,000 people had been registered at the Center this year.  Last month, 1,600 meals were served.  The Valentine's Day event was successful and well attended.  4 Meeting Minutes Senior Advisory Board Boynton Beach, Florida March 7, 2011 ~ The Health Fair brought in almost 500 attendees and 40 vendors were present. ~ AARP tax preparation is ongoing and is every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. They are inundated with taxes but things are going well. ~ Upcoming events are St. Patrick's Day, Easter and Mother's Day. ~ Staff is still in the process of applying for re-accreditation. IX. Next Meeting Date: May 2, 2011, 3:00 p.m. - Boynton Beach Senior Center Chair Chamberlain reminded the members to contact her if they would not be attending a meeting. X. Adjournment Motion A motion was made by Ms. Spinelli to adjourn the meeting and seconded by Ms. O'Connell. There being no further business to discuss, the meeting properly adjourned at 4:03 p.m. Vk-~ Ellie Caruso Transcribed from one recording 031511 (3 hours) *NOTE: The Board year runs from December 1st through November 30th. Each member, upon attaining the third absence, receives a warning letter that one additional absence will result in removal from the Board. Upon achieving the fourth absence, the member is sent a "thank you for your service" letter and the appointment is placed on the City Commission agenda. 5